As Selena was ruthlessly pummeling the demon, fists flying in a relentless storm, a heavy hand suddenly grabbed the back of her collar.
Jason, towering and calm, lifted her into the air like she weighed nothing.
Selena, caught mid-rage, kept swinging her fists and kicking at the air, her
face still twisted in fury, completely ignoring the fact that she was dangling helplessly like an angry kitten.
Jason glanced down at the demon, who was twitching weakly in a pool of his own blood, his face barely recognizable after Selena's brutal assault.
Without a shred of sympathy, Jason casually stepped right on the demon's face as he walked past — the sickening crunch of broken bone echoing softly through the ruined hallway.
Still holding Selena by the collar like an unruly cat, Jason carried her away without even slowing his pace.
Selena, still kicking her feet angrily in the air, yelled, "instructor Jason! Put me down! I'm not done yet! He needs to suffer more!"
Jason didn't even flinch. "You'll kill him at this rate. We need answers, not a corpse."
Zara, watching the whole thing unfold, whispered to Fluff under her breath,
"...I'm starting to wonder if Selena is actually scarier than the demons."
Fluff nodded very, very seriously, his fur standing on end.
[Host, I'm scared too.]
Two more instructors arrived at the scene — one was a tall woman with sleek silver hair tied in a tight braid: Natalia, known for her strict discipline and frightening combat skills. The second was a scholarly-looking man with round glasses perched low on his nose: William, the academy's eccentric theory instructor.
They both paused when they saw the wreckage — the shattered pillar, the bloodied demon lying in a heap — and their eyes flicked toward Selena, still flailing in Jason's grip as he hauled her away like a misbehaving kitten.
Without saying a word, Natalia and William stepped closer to the fallen demon. Natalia knelt down, her sharp eyes scanning the blood-red horn protruding from the demon's forehead.
She frowned slightly and spoke with calm seriousness, "This is a low-level demon. He shouldn't even be able to cross the academy's barrier. How did he get inside, William?"
William adjusted his glasses, crouching beside her. He gave a heavy huff as he examined the demon.
"This is just a pathetic low-level demon... and I abandoned three theories today thinking it was something serious. I'm going to beat him for wasting my time!"
With that, William raised his fist, veins popping on his forehead.
But before he could land the punch, Natalia's hand moved faster than lightning — she punched William on the head with a loud bonk, making his glasses tilt sideways.
"Idiot. If you punch him now, he'll die," she said flatly.
William clutched his head, pouting like a scolded child. "But—but he wasted my whole afternoon!"
Natalia just sighed and muttered, "Focus. We need him alive for interrogation."
Natalia and William exchanged a look, then without wasting any more time, they each grabbed an arm and leg of the unconscious demon. With a grunt, they lifted him like a sack of potatoes and started carrying him away, disappearing down the corridor.
Watching them drag the demon off, Zara let out a small, satisfied smile.
She turned to Fluff, who floated beside her with his usual bored expression, and said proudly,
"Fluff! I survived my death flag! Now I can just peacefully wait a month... then sign in for that huge reward, huhaaa!"
Feeling victorious, she placed her hands confidently on her hips, puffed out her chest, and let out a loud, exaggerated laugh, almost like a villain in a children's play.
Fluff, still floating next to her, slowly turned his tiny head toward Zara and stared.
His round eyes were filled with an expression that could only be described as utter disbelief.
[Host... you look like a fool right now,] he thought silently, but wisely chose not to say it out loud.
Instead, he just let out a small sigh and drifted lazily in circles, pretending not to know her,
Zara noticed Fluff turning his back to her like he was disowning her.
She blinked, then a mischievous grin slowly spread across her face.
Without a word, she crept closer, wiggling her fingers menacingly.Then—attack!
She began tickling Fluff's soft, fluffy belly with rapid, playful pokes.
Fluff instantly jolted, his tiny paws flailing as he twisted around in panic.
[Host! W-What are you doing?! Haha—stop! Hahaha! I-I'm serious—haha—stop it!]
Fluff's round body floated helplessly in the air as Zara mercilessly tickled him, laughing harder at his squirming.
"That's what you get for ignoring me, Fluff!" Zara said, her voice full of mock anger.
Fluff finally managed to roll away, puffing up his fur like an angry cat.
After playing around with Fluff for a while, Zara finally let him go, laughing to herself.
But just as she turned around, her smile faded.
Her sky-blue eyes narrowed sharply, focusing on the spot where the demon had fallen earlier.A strange, faint mist — black and writhing — hovered above the bloodstained floor.
Zara blinked, confused.
She rubbed her eyes and looked again.
The mist was gone.
Only the blood remained, slowly soaking into the cracked stone.
"...Weird," Zara muttered under her breath.
But Fluff, floating beside her, was suddenly stiff — his round body tense, his ears twitching in alarm.
Neither of them noticed the chill that briefly swept through the air.